U.S. DOE Invests $200M in Ethanol From Feedstocks

Washington DC May 2, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman yesterday announced plans to invest up to $200 million over the next five years to help companies develop small biorefineries that can produce alternative fuel from feedstocks such as prairie grasses, corn stalks, and wood chips.

The goal of the small-scale research projects, which are expected to be operational in three to four years, is to assist the long-term development of large-scale biomass-to-fuel plants. "This research will provide the next necessary step toward developing cellulosic biorefineries that can transform our transportation sector in a clean and cost-effective manner," Bodman told Forbes.

The department is looking for five to 10 companies that can design, build, and operate demonstration plants that are about a tenth of the size as commercial plants. The plants would produce liquid transportation fuels such as ethanol, as well as bio-based chemicals and bioproducts used in industrial applications.

Companies would have to cover at least half of the cost of their projects. The agency's $585 million investment in cellulosic ethanol is part of the Bush administration's goal to have 20 percent of the nation's fuel supply come from renewable resources by 2017.